Shanghai opens huge airport terminal for Expo

Mar 16, 2010, 7:00 GMT

Beijing - Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport opened a second terminal on Tuesday ahead of an anticipated influx of visitors next month for the opening of World Expo 2010 in the city.

Local media said the second terminal and a new 3,300-metre runway would increase the airport's annual passenger capacity to about 40 million, up 60 per cent from the 25 million passengers handled last year.

The terminal is a key part of Shanghai's drive to attract some 70 million visitors to Expo 2010, which is scheduled to open to the public from May 1 to October 31.

The three-year, 15.3-billion-yuan (2.23-billion-dollar) redevelopment of the Hongqiao Transport Hub included the airport plus new subway, rail and road links, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported earlier.

The new runway enables the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, to use Hongqiao, which handled more than 189,000 flights last year.

Shanghai's other airport, Pudong, handled some 32 million passengers last year.

The opening ceremony of Shanghai Expo is scheduled on April 30 following a 10-day trial opening to test security and other procedures.

The largest-ever Expo site is due to include some 200 pavilions, including international exhibits representing most major nations.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is among the foreign dignitaries who have agreed to attend the opening ceremony, organizers said.

World Expositions have been held since London hosted the Great Exhibition of Industries of All Nations in 1851. The Shanghai Expo is the first one hosted by a developing nation.

China said it planned to use the Expo to 'explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century,' with the theme 'Better City, Better Life.'